In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Death; violence; racism; police targeting; police brutality] President Obama has just given an address in Dallas at the memorial service for the five police officers killed in a mass shooting. People will certainly have varying opinions on whether he struck the right tone, but, irrespective of those assessments, this is another one of those days when I am glad he is our president.

[CN: Gun violence; injury] Fucking hell: "A gunman opened fire minutes into a vigil Monday evening for a homicide victim in West Baltimore, wounding five people. Four women and one man were shot, police said, before the gunman ran away. The crowd scattered into the North Avenue traffic; it was about 6:30 p.m. The five victims, shot in their legs and feet, one woman grazed in her stomach, were all expected to survive. ...The vigil was for Doreen Scofield's 24-year-old son, who was killed Sunday. 'We only wanted to celebrate my son, and they're shooting at us,' said Scofield, whose family escaped without injury. 'What else is it you want? What else do you want? You got my son ... and you're still shooting at us because we have a candlelight vigil? When will it end?' Her son, Jermaine, was shot to death in the 1800 block of W. North Ave. about 1:15 a.m. Sunday. He had two children. 'I'm tired. I'm tired,' his mother said after the vigil. 'It's innocent people being shot. Enough is enough.'" Sob.

[CN: Racism; death; police brutality; class warfare] This is such an important read in the New York Times by Christopher J. Tyson on Baton Rouge, its history and present, and how it "is essentially two cities. One is south Baton Rouge: a prosperous and amenity-filled, predominantly white and middle-class network of cul-de-sac neighborhoods and upscale shopping centers. The other is north Baton Rouge: a marginalized and forgotten collection of the city's older neighborhoods and neglected infrastructure. It is largely poor and black and it is where Mr. Sterling's life came to a tragic, unnecessary end."

[CN: Rape culture; victim-blaming] Because the Republicans are always coming up with cool new ways to fail women: "GOP Platform Draft Includes Hostility to Campus Rape Survivors." Yeah.

[CN: Rape culture; sexual abuse] In an act of self-care, I am not reading this, but here it is, since it's news: "Joe Paterno knew of Jerry Sandusky abuse in 1976 per testimony in newly unsealed records."

[CN: Racism] What the absolute fuck: "On Saturday night, four off-duty Minneapolis police officers walked off their jobs working security at a WNBA Lynx game when the players wore T-shirts with the phrase 'Black Lives Matter' and held a press conference focusing on healing the divide between law enforcement and the black community. The president of the Minneapolis Police Federation, Lt. Bob Kroll, praised the action of the officers. 'I commend them for it,' he said, as reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune."

I just wish Ruth Bader Ginsburg would tell us what she really thinks about Donald Trump. She's so shy.

Today in Ghostbusters news! 1. This review's headline, lolyay: "Ghostbusters takes aim at misogyny and scores." 2. This is soooo amazing: "Let's get another look at that little girl's face, shall we? Yep, it's just as we thought. That awestruck smile. The hope shining in her eyes. Beyond repair." Her childhood RUINED! 3. And this! Paul Feig addresses whether Kate McKinnon's character is gay. (Spoiler alert: She is!)

"Astronomers discover distant dwarf planet beyond Neptune: A dwarf planet half the size of Britain has been found tumbling through space in the most distant reaches of the solar system. The giant ball of rock and ice lies nine billion kilometres away on an orbit that swings far beyond the realm of Neptune, the most remote of the fully-fledged planets in our cosmic vicinity." NEW HOME PLANET. Who's coming with me?

And finally! "A feral cat and a black bear are the best of friends at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary. For the past seven years, a bond has formed between Sequoia, a lumbering, aged bear, and a black cat with a clipped ear nicknamed 'Little Bear' by zookeepers. They lounge in the shade next to each other, wander together through the bear enclosure and even share a meal." Aww. ♥